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So I decided to Mexicanize our dinner tonight with a little casserole spin. Thank you http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-tamale-casserole-10000001854020/ for giving me that opportunity! I found this and automatically had to try it. Why? BECAUSE I FREAKING LOVE TAMALES. Judge me. I dare you. This was really good, although I do have some minor-okay maybe major- alterations. I did not have any enchilada sauce or green chile peppers on hand, so I quickly made some enchilada sauce (this was delicious) thanks to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/easy-enchilada-sauce-recipe/index.html . I did half that ^ recipe though and it was great! And in substitute for the green chile peppers, I added half a chopped roma tomato, half a can of Original Rotel, and half a chopped green bell pepper. I also hate creamed corn and just put in a bag of thawed corn. Now, my family is big on the crunch of all foods, so the fact that this was soft cornbread friendly food, didn’t go over as well. They all loved the taste, but recommended some corn tortillas on the redo. I agree that it would taste good with corn tortillas, yet I also very much enjoyed the cornbread Original version. For a quick side note try Dole’s Southwest Style Salad Mix for some vegetable badassery.

So I decided to improv the crap out of today’s dinner! I bought some cracked peppercorn pork tenderloin- I would’ve bought the unseasoned kind, but they were all out. Then I went home and popped it straight into the crock pot on high. While the pork was heating up, I chopped up two russet potatoes and one Roma tomato along with 3/4 lb. of green beans. I threw those on the top with some thyme, 2 cups of water, two beef bouillon cubes, a splash of chicken broth and some olive oil. Since I was running a little late on time, I put it on high for 3 hours, than on low for 1 hour and 30 minutes. It was delicious! The preseasoned pork was to die for (peppercorn by the way), and with the vegetables it added so much texture. I accidentally bought Jumbo crescent rolls, so I cut them in half and they actually cooked to regular size! Haha well…Bon Appetit!

So I completely forgot to lay out some meat to thaw this morning, so we could eat. And I ended up coming home, throwing some Italian sausage by a preheated oven (500 degrees) and mixed 2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp sea salt, some yeast, some warm water, sugar and a little pounding on a floured surface= CRUST! I left that out in the sun with a towel over it for and hour and a half and then circularized it onto some fantastically amazing cooking pans (they’re like stone:for bread:I LOVE THEM). I then continued to saute the Italian sausage with a sliced onion and thyme. I looked around the kitchen, things were looking good. Well then I go in search of the BASIC ESSENTIALS of pizza making, and we do not have them. Pepperoni? NO!. So my dad hopped into the truck, mind you this was before we found out we had no tomato sauce, and got some pepperoni. Crisis averted right? Wrong. Then we figured out we had no tomato sauce. Conveniently, I have a crafty mind, and I ended up whipping together some tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, water, and Italian spices (accidentally added Dill). And it was great!!! The dill did nothing, or maybe it did… but I highly recommend using this instead of regular sauce from the store! It added some thickness and tasted delicious! Anyway, I spread that on my handtossed style crust, added some meat, pepperoni, cheese, and chopped basil (I also added some purple onion and green bell pepper, but only on a small portion because this is my preferred pizza). You guys, this pizza was the shit. And it only took 5 minutes to cook! FIVE FREAKING STARS!

BOOM! I made a freaking culinary masterpiece. Bow down peasants. So I got the pork chop recipe from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/smothered-pork-chops-with-thyme-10000001571457/. It was damn delicious. It literally tasted like bacon. I read the reviews and DID add mushrooms to the sauce, and it made it taste 5 BILLION times better. So that ones a keeper. Now the mashed potato swirl was kind of a creation of my own. I had three tiny russet potatoes, three tiny sweet potatoes, and 4 hungry peeps to feed. So I peeled, chopped, boiled, and HAND-MASHED (this is important) together. It was good! Not great, but pretty good. The chunkiness added something authentic to the dish, so I recommend using those biceps. Now the Garlicky Green beans are just your basic green beans, steamed, and just throw in some garlic and onions and mix! VOILA! This recipe took about 1 hour, so enjoy with time:)

Now, don’t be mad, but I cheated again! I know, I know, but it was my brother’s gymnastics day and “Chicken Helper is his favourite food. I offered to make some homemade Chicken Fried Rice, yet he insisted on the box kind. I did, however, add some chopped up celery, minced purple onion, and crushed garlic. I found this gave some extra veggies and a nice kick. Also, for the people who love spicy delicacies, much like myself, put a few drops of Tobasco sauce on the Chicken Fried Rice and BOOM instant yumminess! I promise tomorrow I’ll make some culinary masterpiece! Scout’s Honor. I mean, I was a crappy Girl Scout, but still…